External quality assessment in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (EUCAST disc diffusion methodology) of five anaerobic strains – performance of 35 laboratories in Germany and Austria, 2024

Buhl M, Jung J, Stingu CS, Copsey-Mawer S, Held J, Haase G, Sieg M, Laden S, Valeska S, Bordunos K, Bollinger T, Granzer H, Lefmann M, Stein Pv, Gatermann S, Molitor E, Pranada A, Löwe T, Walch D, Hogardt M, Kositska S, Gentil K, Weig M, Ehrhardt S, Ziesing S, Zimmermann S, Becker SL, Lapatschek M, Maschkowitz G, Schuler-Lüttmann S, Zautner AE, Wantia N, Kahl BC, Gräber S, Hering S, Nikolova K, Matten J, Schmidt A, Johannes F (2026)

Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2026

Journal

Book Volume: 97

Article Number: 103025

DOI: 10.1016/j.anaerobe.2026.103025

Abstract

This study evaluated the performance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) for anaerobic bacteria among 35 clinical microbiology laboratories in Germany and Austria through an interlaboratory comparison (ILC) challenge. A panel of five anaerobic bacterial strains (two Bacteroides fragilis, and one each of Phocaeicola vulgatus, Clostridium perfringens and Fusobacterium necrophorum) was tested by the participating laboratories against a panel of antibiotics (piperacillin-tazobactam, meropenem, metronidazole, clindamycin and/or benzylpenicillin) using the EUCAST disc diffusion methodology. This method was evaluated in comparison with the standard reference method, and categorical agreement with expected results was high (≥90 %), with notable exceptions for piperacillin-tazobactam (88.6 % and 80.0 % in two of the five strains, respectively). The observed discrepancies underscore that the method requires local technical expertise in combination not only with continuous internal quality control but also with external quality assurance.

Authors with CRIS profile

Involved external institutions

Universitätsklinikum Leipzig Germany (DE) University Hospital of Wales (UHW) United Kingdom (GB) Universitätsklinikum Aachen (UKA) Germany (DE) MZLA Medizinisches Zentrallabor Altenburg GmbH Germany (DE) Labopart — Medical Laboratories Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Frankfurt am Main (KGU) Germany (DE) amedes Hamburg Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg (UKGM) Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Göttingen Germany (DE) Medizinische Hochschule Hannover (MHH) / Hannover Medical School Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg Germany (DE) Universität des Saarlandes (UdS) Germany (DE) allgäuLab MVZ GmbH Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) Germany (DE) HELIOS Kliniken Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Magdeburg A.ö.R. Germany (DE) Technische Universität München (TUM) Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Münster Germany (DE) LADR Der Laborverbund Dr. Kramer & Kollegen Germany (DE) Klinikum Nürnberg Germany (DE) Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Tübingen Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Würzburg Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Halle (Saale) Germany (DE) Klinikum St. Marien Amberg Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Augsburg Germany (DE) Herz- und Diabeteszentrum Nordrhein-Westfalen Germany (DE) Klinikum Bayreuth Germany (DE) Bundeswehrkrankenhaus Berlin Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum der Ruhr-Universität Bochum Germany (DE) Institut für Medizinische Laboratoriumsdiagnostik IML Germany (DE) Universitätsklinikum Bonn Germany (DE) Krankenhaus Nordwest Germany (DE) Klinikum Oldenburg Germany (DE) Universitätsmedizin Rostock Germany (DE)

How to cite

APA:

Buhl, M., Jung, J., Stingu, C.S., Copsey-Mawer, S., Held, J., Haase, G.,... Johannes, F. (2026). External quality assessment in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (EUCAST disc diffusion methodology) of five anaerobic strains – performance of 35 laboratories in Germany and Austria, 2024. Anaerobe, 97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anaerobe.2026.103025

MLA:

Buhl, Michael, et al. "External quality assessment in antimicrobial susceptibility testing (EUCAST disc diffusion methodology) of five anaerobic strains – performance of 35 laboratories in Germany and Austria, 2024." Anaerobe 97 (2026).

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